The city of Columbia cannot require children to wear face masks in the city’s public schools and day care facilities.
That was the upshot of a ruling Thursday afternoon by the S.C. Supreme Court, which said a city emergency ordinance, passed last month, was in clear conflict with a state law. And in this case, state law prevails, the high court said.
On Aug. 5, the city issued an emergency ordinance requiring masks in elementary and middle schools, as well as day cares. It said the intention was to protect children — especially those under 12, who are not eligible to take a vaccine — against the spread of COVID-19, which is transmitted in people’s breath.
On Aug. 19, Attorney General Alan Wilson filed a legal challenge to the city’s law in the state Supreme Court, saying the city’s ordinance, though well intended, could not trump a state law to the contrary.
The result of the Supreme Court’s 14-page ruling against the city was unanimous, but several justices added their own explanations of the opinion.
Read more at https://www.thestate.com/news/coronavirus/article253913798.html
